The following disclosure relates generally to wireless data collection and communications methods, apparatus and systems for interconnected mobile systems, such as railways.
TRAINTALK from GE Harris Railway Electronic is a wireless communications system that employs a spread spectrum direct sequence radio to provide communications between railway vehicles (i.e., locomotives and cars) forming a railway train. In its current configuration, the TRAINTALK system provides electronically controlled braking (ECB) with a railway train, although marketing materials indicate that future capability may include providing information about car status and cargo conditions. Railway companies appear reluctant to place braking under electronic control for a variety of reasons, such as the high cost of retrofitting associated with such a system. The TRAINTALK system employs a mesh typography, each vehicle coupled to at least two other vehicles, in each direction, to provide multiple paths between vehicles for routing addressed messages.
Some railway companies began implementing data collection in 1992 using Amtech""s AVI products. While successful at collecting data, the AVI system did not provide the collected data to the railway in xe2x80x9creal-time.xe2x80x9d
Communications technology, including communication infrastructure, has become more cost-effective and pervasive in the last five to eight years. With the widespread use of cellular phone systems, Global Positioning Systems, and even satellite communicators, real time communication with almost any location within the United States is a current possibility. Railways have not fully taken advantage of such communications technology, and do not generally track equipment and inventory in real-time. Real-time tracking of equipment and inventory may increase operating efficiency, prevent losses, assist in the building and dismantling of trains or other collections of interconnected vehicles, and/or otherwise provide useful scheduling data. A need exists for real-time data collection and reporting for interconnected mobile systems, such as railways.
In one aspect a system and method of automated wireless data collection and communications for interconnected mobile systems, such as railway trains, includes an internal or xe2x80x9cintra-trainxe2x80x9d communications system having a master control unit (xe2x80x9cMCUxe2x80x9d) carried by one of the interconnected vehicles and a number of data transmission units (xe2x80x9cDTUxe2x80x9d) each carried by a respective one of the other interconnected vehicles. Communications between the interconnected vehicles takes place in a daisy-chain fashion, each interconnected vehicle communicating with immediately adjacent vehicles, and appending its own data to data previously collected from prior vehicles. The master control unit may serve as the start and the terminus of the communications daisy-chain, and can provide the collected information to an external communications component.
Thus, the automated wireless data collection and communications for interconnected mobile systems may include the means for providing real-time tracking data for each railcar in this country. The data could include specific information concerning the condition, load, and inventory of each railcar on a train.